A Queenstown woman who claimed her daughter's rival for a place at a boarding school had a sexually transmitted disease has been sentenced.

The woman, 53, a cleaner, was given permanent name suppression to protect her daughter, when she appeared before Judge Raoul Neave in the Queenstown District Court yesterday.

She was sentenced to 300 hours community work, ordered to pay $500 emotional harm reparation and was given two years' intensive supervision including undertaking mental health programmes and counselling.

The woman earlier admitted posing as a nurse when she phoned St Hilda's Collegiate School and Columba College in Dunedin.

She had applied to send her daughter to the prestigious schools and made up stories about another teenager who had also applied to the colleges.

She rang the schools and said she was a sexual health worker and the victim had a sexually transmitted disease and was in a lesbian relationship. She also claimed the girl needed treatment.

She hoped to get her daughter accepted ahead of the other Queenstown-based pupil.

The judge said the woman was suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and this had affected her behaviour.